Wisconsin State Journal Logo 		Left Rule for Weather Right Rule for Weather Right Rule for Weather Temporary Delivery Stop
separator

E-MAIL STORY  
Eric Nelson, relaxing on a picnic table at Adoue Park near his Galveston home, said his personality hasn't changed since a 1998 bus fire ? he's as outgoing now as before. "I can't hide what happened to me. The results are staring people in the face, so I might as well be open about it." He stopped counting skin-graft surgeries after 50 of them. Heather Gallagher-Nelson, hugging her son, said she and her husband can bring uncommon empathy to their parenting. "Not long ago, we had regressed to that stage and needed people to help us do everything." After an afternoon of romping at a neighborhood playground, the family heads back to their home. Eric Nelson said he holds no hard feelings toward his former hometown. "It wasn't Madison. It was one guy who was mentally ill."
Eric Nelson walks the family's three dogs in the historic Galveston neighborhood where he lives. He and his wife acquired numerous pets after being told they would never be parents. "We thought our children would have to be the furry kind," he said. Their son, Dylan, came along three years ago. The pets got to stay anyway. A trip to one of his son's favorite destinations means spending some time on a train for Eric Nelson. About once a month, the family visits the Galveston Railroad Museum, where the proprietors know them by name. Eric Nelson plays with his son, Dylan, in their neighborhood park in Galveston, Texas. Nelson, who is on private and federal disability insurance, tires easily and must balance times of exertion with times of rest. Eric Nelson laughs with his mother-in-law, Rosemary Gallagher, at her home south of Houston. "He's a pretty good guy. I think we'll keep him," she said.
Heather Gallagher-Nelson walks with her son, Dylan. Doctors told her they were not aware of two other people so severely burned conceiving a child. The family spends a leisurely morning at Mosquito Cafe, a favorite brunch spot in their Galveston neighborhood. "He has his father's hair," Heather Gallagher-Nelson said of her son, Dylan, resting on his dad's shoulder. Before the bus fire, her husband's hair flew in wild directions, she said.  
Advertisement
Most Viewed Stories
• Cyclists ride to benefit AIDS Network, raise $233,305
• Doyle's budget tries to preserve Wisconsin's farmlands
• Conklin: Memoirs just another challenge for punk rocker
• Mystery in Taliesin graveyard: Stone appears, then disappears
• The gift of normal -- Day 1: Prosthetics are life changing
Contacts
• Reader services
• Temporary delivery stop
• Guide to getting in the paper
• Reach Staff
• E-mail editor
• Want to work here?

Copyright © Wisconsin State Journal

For comments about this site, contact Anjuman Ali, interactive editor, aali@madison.com

madison.com ©   Capital Newspapers

reader services| advertiser services| contact us| site map| FAQ| index of advertisers